What a lovely name
by Poly-chan
Summary: In the end their little guy had really been helping them. And he was still doing so. A little missing scene for episode 2x15.


_**A/n:** Just because I know how names are important on this story, I decided to play a little with the idea of Henry's name. This idea also came from a picture I saw in a blog, of Neal right next to a stand of names, Henry's included. It was back in the time we didn't know he was Bae yet. I still need to finish my other story, I decided to really write three endings for Heartlines, but I couldn't stop myself from writing this little idea. This one is finished, hope you enjoy it!_

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**What a lovely name**

"Come on, Henry! Faster!"

Neal heard Emma's voice at his back and even if he should be worrying over other things right now – like sailing a pirate ship out of New York to save his long-not-seen-father's life – he couldn't stop a memory from showing up.

They were young. They had been pulling different tricks to steal from shops and convenience stores, skipping from town to town and living one day at a time. That day they decided to play the pregnant Emma trick. And as he put a hand on her belly and smiled, he wondered what would be like to have that for real – to have a kid with her. He was sure that would happen some day, and then he would be a happy man, even happier than he was then.

As he walked to the cashier, his hands on the map he was holding, his eyes traveled around. He saw some candy that he could grasp, and maybe a little something for Emma.

Later he didn't know why he got_ both_ the keychains. He felt like he wanted to give Emma something meaningful, and the swan was understandable, it was even sweet. But what about the wood carved name?

"I am not sure why I got it." he said when they were at the car, their spoil splattered on her lap. He had just presented her with the swan keychain, then pulled out the second one. "Maybe the little guy needs a name."

"Henry." she said, looking at the little piece of wood. "I like it."

As they were getting ready to sail, Neal thought about that memory. So she had really named their son Henry. Even if she was heartbroken, in prison because of him. That needed to mean something.

"What are you doing?" Neal turned around. He had been staring at the keychain he always carried around like a talisman, like the promise of the future he hoped he could still have with Emma. The bearer of that special name, the name he carried with him for ten years, was staring at him curiously.

"Just thinking." Neal said. But the object in his hands caught the boy's attention.

"Why do you have my name in a little piece of wood?"

At the mention of that, Emma also turned around and stared at Neal, looking at the keychain she hadn't see in so long.

"You kept it." she whispered, too surprised to suppress herself of being remotely friendly to Neal.

"I did." he confessed with a sad smile "It was what kept me sane for a lot of days and nights. It was a way to remind myself that I might still have the chance of future with you. What I didn't know was that part of this future I imagined had actually happened." he finished, looking at a confused Henry.

"It was not my doing." Emma said, wanting to tell him that she didn't get the chance to do that, she didn't name Henry. She had been afraid that, if she did so, she would never let them take the baby from her. "Regina, his adoptive mother, named Henry."

Neal made a little oh with his mouth, not daring to say anything. There was so much that he didn't know, so much they needed to talk about.

"What are you guys talking about? What does my name has to do with anything?" Henry asked, looking from one parent to the other.

Neal looked at the keychain, then at his son. The name still sounded a little unfamiliar to his ears, and yet, special. He looked into the boy's eyes.

"Your name, Henry." Neal said, approaching the boy, showing him the keychain. "Was the name your mom and I would give to a son if we ever had one. I got this the same day I got your mom that little swan she used to have around her neck."

Emma flinched at the mention of the necklace in the past. She already missed the weight of it around her neck, and the comfort of touching it.

"You guys talked about having kids... you wanted a baby?" Henry asked, wrinkling his forehead.

"Yes, we did. If things were different and your mom and I stayed together, we probably would have had a couple of kids." Neal said, sincerity in his voice. He tried not to look at Emma, she was probably sending him bullets with her stare.

"And you wanted to name me Henry?" the boy asked, looking up at his dad.

"We didn't know about you..." Neal said. "But we had this little game about your mom being pregnant. And we called the baby little guy until I st... until I got this keychain."

Emma watched the exchange. She wasn't sure she was comfortable with Neal sharing information about their past with Henry, not yet. But Henry had a marveled expression on his face. He took a step forward, and hugged Neal.

"Thank you!"

Neal blinked, surprised. He hugged the boy back and asked.

"For what, buddy?"

"For my name." Henry said, thinking that was a way better story than Regina naming him after her father – the father she killed "For thinking about me even before I was born."

Neal shrugged, now looking at Emma.

"Sure, pal. That's what parents do, I think."

Henry smiled to him, thinking that maybe all of that mess would turn out as something good. His confusing family was just getting more and more confusing. But it was _his_ family, mother and father and grandparents, way more than he could ever have imagined when he began the search for his biological mother.

Neal closed his hands around the little piece of wood that he stole so long ago. Henry, his son. Life could have reserved a lot of unpleasant surprises for him, but that was one that he didn't see coming, but was more than happy to adapt to.

He looked up at Emma and she had her eyes in Henry, but she was smiling, maybe also remembering those long gone days. Neal smiled too. In the end their little guy had really been helping them. And he was still doing so.


End file.
